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Chair’s blog – July 2018

With all the recent Brexit excitement in the Commons you’d
be forgiven for thinking that our senior politicians don’t have time for
regional policy outside the Westminster bubble.

But I’m delighted to report that in recent weeks the LEP has
met with a veritable feast of HMG’s finest, including Secretaries of State for
business, transport and local government, the Science Minister, Minister
without Portfolio, and even the PM herself at the inaugural Council of LEP
Chairs at No 10.

And I’m not namedropping for the sake of it. Government
wants to know how LEPs are contributing to local delivery of the UK’s Modern
Industrial Strategy, supporting business, innovation and investment, and making
sure people have the skills they need to play their part in the growth of our
nation.

Fortunately we’ve got loads to talk about in Cornwall and
the Isles of Scilly.

Most recently was saw the announcement of a partnership
agreement between Cornwall Council and satellite launch company Virgin
Orbit to bring horizontal satellite launches to Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall
Airport Newquay by 2021.

This was a massive achievement and marked the culmination of
over a year’s hard work by a team led and funded by the LEP, in partnership
with Cornwall Council. The agreement has been warmly welcomed by Science
Minister Sam Gyimah who said the Government would work with Virgin Orbit and
the Council to support our region’s spaceflight ambitions as part of the UK’s
Industrial Strategy.

The space economy is one of the key growth sectors featured
in the LEP’s recently updated 10 Opportunities
investment prospectus, and we have spelled out in our Space Action Plan
an ambition to create a £1 billion space economy in Cornwall by 2030.

There has been more good news from Goonhilly Earth Station which
recently secured a £24 million private sector funding injection on the back of
the LEP’s £8.4m
investment to support deep space communication from Cornwall. Goonhilly has
since set out a roadmap
for global growth that includes a new green data centre, facilities in the
US and Australia, and support for commercial lunar and Mars missions from 2020.

We have also just signed an agreement
with Edinburgh-based satellite launch operator Skyrora to use Cornwall Airport
Newquay’s rocket testing facilities with support from the LEP’s Enterprise Zone
Infrastructure Fund.

And we have been celebrating the space-related achievements
of the younger generation with two Cornish schools pitching their ideas about
how satellites can benefit our world at the UK
Space Agency’s headquarters in Harwell near Oxford, after winning a national
competition.

The teams were supported by
the LEP-funded Enterprise Adviser Network which had its own reason to celebrate after being
chosen by the Careers & Enterprise Company to host one of just 20 Careers Hubs
in England.

The successful bid was led by
the LEP and is part of a £5 million Government-funded project over the next two
years. The
Hubs are a central to the Government’s Careers Strategy, which aims to improve
careers education and help prepare young people for the world of
work. They are made up local schools and colleges working together with
universities, training providers, employers and career professionals.

I
am also delighted to confirm that the LEP has secured £465,000 of Government
funding to help local businesses recruit and retain people with disabilities
and long term health conditions.

TheCornwall Work and Health
Beacon Project is the first of its kind in the UK and is the result of almost two
years of work by the LEP with Government and our partners across the private,
public and voluntary sector. It aims to
widen the pool of talent and experience available to employers, creating
opportunities for local people and helping to tackle skills shortages.

The
project will work with businesses to co-create solutions and build their
confidence to employ and retain people with disabilities and long term health
conditions, and ensure they have the right support and information available to
them. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly there are almost 50,000 working
age people whose day-to-day activities are limited by a long term illness or
disability.

We
know that businesses can be nervous about hiring someone with a disability, but
at the same time have trouble finding the skills they need. So we want to
change behaviours and build confidence because an inclusive workforce is good
for the individual, good for the economy and good for business.

In
another boost for the private sector we have recently celebrated the launch of the £40m Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund, which has been
established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the LEP, the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and UK Government to provide local
businesses with more funding options to help them grow and create jobs.

It
has been designed following input from local business groups, funders, business
advisers and the LEP and will provide debt and equity finance from £25,000 to
£2 million. It is expected to unlock a further £40 million of private
investment.

The
fund has been a long-held ambition of the LEP and our partners and we believe
it will prove transformational by creating an enduring legacy of business
investment, innovation and growth in our region.

As
I write the Government has just published its review of LEPs in which it has
reaffirmed its commitment to support LEPs in our delivery of locally-driven,
long-term economic growth. This includes the production of an evidence-based
Local Industrial Strategy for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, focused on
enhancing productivity.

We
expect to receive more guidance about Local Industrial Strategies over the
summer, and look forward to building on the work we have already done with our
10 Opportunities prospectus. Government aims to agree strategies across England
by 2020 in preparation for its Shared Prosperity Fund, which will be a domestic
programme of investment after we have left the EU.

I
would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Glenn Caplin as the LEP’s
new Chief Executive and Service Director (Economic Development and Enterprise)
for Cornwall Council. Glenn started his role on 19th July.

He brings a wealth
of experience to the role and has a deep understanding of the Cornwall and
Isles of Scilly business sector. He was most recently Director of Strategic
Innovation Projects at Falmouth University, where he led the university’s
venture portfolio work.

Prior to that he
was Head of Economic Development, Skills and Culture at Cornwall Council where
he set the direction of the Council’s Economic Development and Culture Strategy
and its implementation. He has also held a number of business and
economic development roles in the Council and the Cornwall Development Company.

Glenn joins the LEP at a hugely exciting time and like all of us is
committed to promoting prosperity for the businesses and communities of
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Finally, two dates for your diary. On the afternoon and evening of 20th
September we will be joining the Growth Hub at the Royal Cornwall Showground
for GrowthFest, a celebration of business and economic growth in our region.
And on 25th September we are staging a Housing and Construction
Conference at the Atlantic Hotel in Newquay. Details to follow soon on our
website events
page.